In what is seen as a move to offer smarter energy solutions and encourage its 2.5 million customers to consumer lesser power, EnergyAustralia announced an AU$9.3 million strategic investment in solar energy startup Redback Technologies.

As Australians are moving towards lower emission energy systems and taking control of their energy consumption, this new partnership will bring the environmental and economic benefits of solar technology to many more homes in the coming months. Philip Livingston, Founder and managing director of Brisbane-based Redneck Technologies, said,

Today marks a new day for the clean energy sector in Australia, and we at Redback could not be happier.

Under the partnership, EnergyAustralia will promote Redback’s smart hybrid solar inverter system which uses advanced hybrid functionality to manage and store energy— energy which you can save for your own personal use or sell back to grid as opposed to the traditional solar inverter systems, which have zero capacity for storage. Therefore, a fair amount of energy is lost.

The smart hybrid solar inverter system uses machine learning to gather intelligence over time, through user preferences and weather reports. Further, the technology can be run by a smartphone, is compatible with existing systems, and offers a faster rate of return as compared to rival products in the market.

Redback’s technology will empower Australians to have greater control over their energy consumption, save costs, and contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions. According to industry sources, EnergyAustralia will buy a 20-25 percent stake in Redback, valuing the startup at about $40 million. Livingston said,

Strategically transforming itself from an energy storage hardware company to an energy management software company, Redback says it was chosen by EnergyAustralia for the investment because of its experience and achievements.